Reported Speech – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are having coffee with a friend, catching up on the latest neighborhood gossip. You are sharing shocking news about a mutual acquaintance (Mark) who is suddenly making huge changes in his life, like quitting his job and moving away. You use reported speech to summarize the crazy conversation you had with him yesterday. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “You won’t believe this! I saw Mark yesterday, and he told me that ______ to quit his job!”
(A) he want
(B) I wanted
(C) he wanted
(D) he is wanting
2 “I asked him why, and he said that ______ really bored with his office life.”
(A) I was
(B) he is
(C) he has been
(D) he was
3 “It gets crazier. He told me that he ______ all his furniture right now to save money.”
(A) was selling
(B) is selling
(C) had sold
(D) was sell
4 “He complained to me about the company. He said that ______ boss was completely crazy.”
(A) their boss
(B) my boss
(C) he boss
(D) his boss
5 “When I asked about his apartment, he said that he ______ the lease at the end of the month.”
(A) would cancel
(B) will cancel
(C) cancelled
(D) would cancelling
6 “I was shocked! He mentioned that he ______ a one-way ticket to Bali.”
(A) has already bought
(B) already bought
(C) had already bought
(D) had already buy
7 “He explained that he ______ the official resignation papers three days ago.”
(A) had already signed
(B) has already signed
(C) already signed
(D) had already sign
8 “I asked him when exactly he was flying out. He said he was leaving ______.”
(A) tomorrow
(B) the next day
(C) yesterday
(D) the tomorrow
9 “Listen to this part! He ______ me he was going to open a beach bar.”
(A) told
(B) said
(C) asked
(D) spoke to
10 “He admitted that he ______ stand the cold winter weather here anymore.”
(A) shouldn’t
(B) didn’t can
(C) can’t
(D) couldn’t
11 “Mark looked so happy. He told me he didn’t want to live ______ ever again.”
(A) here
(B) there
(C) at there
(D) anywhere
12 “He said that to buy the bar, he ______ borrow some money from his parents.”
(A) had to
(B) must
(C) must to
(D) ought to
13 “I was so confused. I asked him ______ absolutely sure about this crazy plan.”
(A) that he was
(B) was he
(C) if he was
(D) if was he
14 “Then I asked him ______ he would live when he got to Bali.”
(A) where would he
(B) that where
(C) where he will
(D) where he would
15 “Before he left, he grabbed my arm and told me ______ anyone his secret yet!”
(A) didn’t tell
(B) not to tell
(C) not telling
(D) don’t tell
16 “He also mentioned that his girlfriend, Lisa, ______ to go with him.”
(A) was going
(B) is going
(C) went
(D) we were going
17 “He laughed and said, ‘I hate this city!’ He literally said he hated ______ city!”
(A) his
(B) that
(C) this
(D) the these
18 “Apparently, it wasn’t a sudden choice. He said he ______ about moving abroad for over a year.”
(A) was thinking
(B) had thinking
(C) has been thinking
(D) had been thinking
19 “He told me he had actually made the final decision two weeks ______.”
(A) ago
(B) before
(C) since
(D) previous
20 “As we said goodbye, he swore that he ______ back to a corporate job ever again.”
(A) will never go
(B) would never go
(C) did he never go
(D) never went
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
(C) he wanted
Why it is correct: The direct speech (“I want”) is in the Present Simple. In reported speech, it backshifts to the Past Simple (“wanted”), and the pronoun shifts from “I” to “he”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) I wanted (Common Mistake): The speaker forgot to change the pronoun from the perspective of Mark.
- (A) he want (Structural Error): Incorrect subject-verb agreement and lacks tense backshift.
- (D) he is wanting (Strong Distractor): Uses continuous tense for a stative verb (“want”), which is grammatically incorrect, and fails to backshift to past.
2 (D)
(D) he was
Why it is correct: The direct speech (“I am”) shifts back to the Past Simple (“he was”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) he is (Common Mistake): Failing to backshift the verb.
- (A) I was (Structural Error): Wrong pronoun context.
- (C) he has been (Strong Distractor): Present Perfect doesn’t fit the simple state of being bored in the past moment of the conversation.
3 (A)
(A) was selling
Why it is correct: The Present Continuous (“I am selling”) backshifts to the Past Continuous (“he was selling”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) is selling (Common Mistake): No backshift applied.
- (D) was sell (Structural Error): Requires the “-ing” form after “was”.
- (C) had sold (Strong Distractor): Past Perfect implies he already finished selling them, but “right now” in the context implies he was in the middle of the process.
4 (D)
(D) his boss
Why it is correct: The possessive adjective “my” changes to “his” to match Mark’s perspective.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) my boss (Common Mistake): The person reporting the gossip accidentally said it was their boss, not Mark’s.
- (C) he boss (Structural Error): Using a subject pronoun instead of a possessive adjective.
- (A) their boss (Strong Distractor): Changes the meaning, implying it was a shared boss for multiple people.
5 (A)
(A) would cancel
Why it is correct: The future auxiliary “will” backshifts to “would” in reported speech.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) will cancel (Common Mistake): Forgetting to backshift “will”.
- (D) would cancelling (Structural Error): “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not an “-ing” verb.
- (C) cancelled (Strong Distractor): Past Simple changes the meaning from a future intention to an already completed action.
6 (C)
(C) had already bought
Why it is correct: The Present Perfect (“I have bought”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“he had bought”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) has already bought (Common Mistake): Forgetting to backshift the tense.
- (D) had already buy (Structural Error): The past perfect requires the past participle (“bought”), not the base verb.
- (B) already bought (Strong Distractor): Past Simple lacks the proper backshift rule from B1 reported speech standards.
7 (A)
(A) had already signed
Why it is correct: The Past Simple (“I signed”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“he had signed”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (C) already signed (Common Mistake): Failing to backshift from Past Simple to Past Perfect.
- (D) had already sign (Structural Error): Requires the past participle (“signed”).
- (B) has already signed (Strong Distractor): Present Perfect is technically moving the tense forward in time relative to the past conversation, which is completely incorrect.
8 (B)
(B) the next day
Why it is correct: In reported speech, time expressions change. “Tomorrow” shifts to “the next day” or “the following day”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) tomorrow (Common Mistake): Failing to shift the time word. If the speaker says “tomorrow”, it means the day after the coffee date, not the day after Mark spoke.
- (D) the tomorrow (Structural Error): Grammatically invalid.
- (C) yesterday (Strong Distractor): Changes the meaning backward in time instead of forward.
9 (A)
(A) told
Why it is correct: The reporting verb “tell” must be followed directly by an object pronoun (“me”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) said (Common Mistake): “Said” cannot be followed directly by an object without “to” (e.g., “said to me”).
- (C) asked (Strong Distractor): He was making a statement, not asking a question.
- (D) spoke to (Structural Error): You cannot “speak to me that [clause]”.
10 (D)
(D) couldn’t
Why it is correct: The modal verb “can’t” backshifts to “couldn’t”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (C) can’t (Common Mistake): No backshift applied.
- (B) didn’t can (Structural Error): You cannot use “didn’t” to negate a modal verb.
- (A) shouldn’t (Strong Distractor): Changes the meaning from “inability/intolerance” to “advice”.
11 (B)
(B) there
Why it is correct: Place words change in reported speech. “Here” becomes “there”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) here (Common Mistake): Forgetting to shift the location word.
- (C) at there (Structural Error): The preposition “at” is not used before “there”.
- (D) anywhere (Strong Distractor): Changes the meaning completely from a specific place to a universal negative.
12 (A)
(A) had to
Why it is correct: The modal verb “must” (obligation) backshifts to “had to” in reported speech.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) must (Common Mistake): Failing to backshift.
- (C) must to (Structural Error): “Must” is never followed by “to”.
- (D) ought to (Strong Distractor): Changes the meaning from a strong obligation to gentle advice.
13 (C)
(C) if he was
Why it is correct: To report a Yes/No question (“Are you sure?”), we use “if” or “whether”, change the pronouns, and use normal statement word order (Subject + Verb), backshifting the tense.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) was he (Common Mistake): Keeping the original question word order instead of statement word order.
- (D) that he was (Strong Distractor): We cannot use “that” to report a question; we must use “if/whether”.
- (D) if was he (Structural Error): Double error of using “if” but keeping the inverted verb-subject order.
14 (D)
(D) where he would
Why it is correct: To report a Wh- question (“Where will you live?”), we keep the Wh- word, use statement word order (Subject + Verb), and backshift (“will” -> “would”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) where would he (Common Mistake): Keeping the original question word order (Verb + Subject).
- (C) where he will (Strong Distractor): Statement word order is correct, but failed to backshift “will” to “would”.
- (B) that where (Structural Error): You cannot put “that” before a question word in reported speech.
15 (B)
(B) not to tell
Why it is correct: To report a negative command (“Don’t tell!”), we use the structure: reporting verb + object + “not to” + base verb.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (D) don’t tell (Common Mistake): Using direct speech imperative inside a reported sentence.
- (A) didn’t tell (Strong Distractor): Looks like a backshift, but commands require the infinitive structure, not a past tense clause.
- (C) not telling (Structural Error): Uses a gerund instead of the “to” infinitive.
16 (A)
(A) was going
Why it is correct: The “be going to” structure backshifts from “is going to” to “was going to”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (B) is going (Common Mistake): Forgetting to backshift the auxiliary verb “is”.
- (D) we were going (Structural Error): Forgot to shift the pronoun “we” to third-person “she/they” (depending on context, here referring to Lisa).
- (C) went (Strong Distractor): Past Simple changes the meaning from a future plan to a completed past trip.
17 (B)
(B) that
Why it is correct: Demonstrative pronouns shift in reported speech. “This” becomes “that”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (C) this (Common Mistake): Forgetting to shift the demonstrative word.
- (D) the these (Structural Error): Invalid grammar combination.
- (A) his (Strong Distractor): “His city” changes the meaning. He didn’t say “I hate my city”, he said “I hate this city”.
18 (D)
(D) had been thinking
Why it is correct: The Past Continuous (“I was thinking”) backshifts to the Past Perfect Continuous (“he had been thinking”).
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) was thinking (Common Mistake): Failing to backshift from past continuous.
- (B) had thinking (Structural Error): Requires “been” before the “-ing” verb.
- (C) has been thinking (Strong Distractor): Present perfect continuous does not follow the backshift rule.
19 (B)
(B) before
Why it is correct: Time markers representing the past shift in reported speech. “Ago” becomes “before” or “previously”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) ago (Common Mistake): Forgetting to shift the time marker.
- (D) previous (Structural Error): “Previous” is an adjective. You would need to say “the previous two weeks”, not “two weeks previous”.
- (C) since (Strong Distractor): Grammatically incorrect usage of “since” in this position.
20 (B)
(B) would never go
Why it is correct: The future intention “will never go” backshifts to “would never go”.
Analysis of Incorrect Options:
- (A) will never go (Common Mistake): Failing to backshift the modal “will”.
- (D) never went (Strong Distractor): Changes the meaning to a past habit rather than a refusal about the future.
- (C) did he never go (Structural Error): Uses question word order and wrong tense for a reported statement.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When you are gossiping or summarizing a past conversation, you are essentially acting as a “time-traveling translator”. Because the original conversation happened in the past, everything they said must take a step backward in time. This rule is called Backshifting.
1 The “Step Back in Time” Rule (Tense Shifts):
- Present Simple → Past Simple (“I love it” → He said he loved it)
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous (“I am moving” → He said he was moving)
- Past Simple → Past Perfect (“I quit” → He said he had quit)
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect (“I have sold it” → He said he had sold it)
2 Modal Verb Shifts:
- Will becomes Would
- Can becomes Could
- Must becomes Had to
- (Note: Could, would, should, and might usually stay the same).
3 Shifting Perspectives (Pronouns & Demonstratives):
You must change the pronouns to fit your perspective telling the story.
- “I” → He/She
- “My” → His/Her
- “This” → That
- “These” → Those
4 Shifting Time & Place Words:
Because you are no longer in the same time or place as the original conversation, the vocabulary must adapt:
- Here → There
- Tomorrow → The next day
- Yesterday → The day before
- Ago → Before
5 Say vs. Tell:
This is the most common mistake for learners!
- Use Say without an object pronoun: He said that…
- Use Tell WITH an object pronoun: He told me that… (Never say “He said me”).
6 Reporting Questions:
When reporting questions, the biggest trick is that it is no longer a question. It becomes a normal sentence. You must use Subject + Verb word order, NOT Verb + Subject.
- Direct: “Where are you going?”
- Reported: I asked him where he was going. (NOT: where was he going).
- For Yes/No questions, add if or whether. (I asked him if he was sure.)